POLLUTION

In this topic we are going to deal about different types of pollution and due
to these types of pollution how our environment is facing disasters and
calamities.

Introduction:

Environmental pollution can be defined as “the unfavourable alteration of

our surroundings”

Types of pollutants:

1. Bio degradable pollutants - decompose rapidly by natural processes.

2. Non-degradable pollutants - do not decompose or slowly decompose in

the environment.

Pollutions are different kinds:-

I-Air pollution:

It may be defined as “the presence of one or

more contaminants like dust, smoke, mist and
odour in the atmosphere which are injurious to
human beings, plants and animals.

II-Water pollution:

It may be defined as “the alteration in physical,

chemical and biological characteristics of water
which may cause harmful effects on human and
aquatic life”.

III-Soil Pollution:

It may be defined as “the contamination of soul

by human and natural activities which may
cause harmful effects on living beings”.
IV-Marine pollution:

It may be defined as “the discharge of waste

substances into the sea resulting in harm to living
resources hazards to human health, hindrance to
fishery and impairment of quality for use of sea
water”.

V-Noise pollution:

It may be defined as “the unwanted, unpleasant

or disagreeable sound that causes discomfort
for all living beings”.

VI-Thermal pollution:

It may be defined as the “addition of excess of

undesirable heat to water that makes it harmful
to man, animal or aquatic life or otherwise
cause’s significant departures from the normal
activities of aquatic communities in water”.

VII-Nuclear Hazards:

The radiation hazard in the environment comes

from ultraviolet, visible, cosmic rays and micro
wave radiation which produces genetic
mutation in man.
Water is considered polluted if some substances or condition is present to
such a degree that the water
cannot be used for a specific
purpose. Olaniran (1995)
defined water pollution to be
the presence of excessive
amounts of a hazard
(pollutants) in water in such a
way that it is no long suitable
for drinking, bathing, cooking
or other uses. Pollution is the introduction of a contamination into the
environment (Webster.com, 2010). It is created by industrial and
commercial waster, agricultural practices, everyday human activities and
most notably, models of transportation. No matter where you go and what
you do, there are remnants earths environmental and its inhabitants in
many ways.

SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution in Nigeria according to Gbamanija (1998) arises from

various activities, among which are:

(i) Sewage leakages

(ii) High population
(iii) oil spillage
(iv) Menace of Nipa palm and water hyacinth
(v) Industrial waste dumped into our waters
(vi) Pollution of ground water through drilling activities
(vii) Flooding during rainy season which carries waste deposits into
our waters.
(viii) Building lavatories and visionaries over running water or even
the sea as it the practice in some riverine areas.
(ix) Radioisotopes
(x) Heavy metal
(xi) Combustion
(xii) Toxic waste disposal at sea
(xiii) Mineral processing plant
(e.g. coal production)
(xiv) Eroded sediments
(xv) Deforestation
(xvi) Mining
(xvii) Littering
(xviii) Pesticides
(xix) herbicides and fertilizers
(xx) Failing septic system
(xxi) House hold chemicals
(xxii) Animal wastes.

Water pollution is generally induced by humans. It results from

actions of humans carried on to better self. These could be treated
under the various activities that man engages in, that lead to
pollution. The growth of human population, industrial and
agricultural practices is the major causes of pollution (Eguabori,
1998). Water pollution becomes worse as a result of
overcrowding in urban areas. Agricultural, domestic and
industrial wastes are the major pollutants of agnatic habitats.
Sewage is the biggest pollutant of fresh water when discharged
into them. Sewage is the waterborne waster of society and the
discharge of untreated sewage into a river is very enormous and
unhealthy. The striking consequence is a substantial and
immediate drop in the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water.
This happens because organic matter stimulates decomposers
especially bacteria which break down suspended solids in the
sewage. As they respire, the decomposers use up dissolved
oxygen (O2) and the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) reduces.
The flora and fauna of the rivers experience change and reduction
in number due to death by suffocation (Tudge, 1991).

Highly polluted rivers have obnoxious smell and contain little

or no flora or fauna. Another source of water pollution is the
discharge of hot water from cooling engines in the industries.
This increases water temperature and lowers the metabolic
rate of organisms. This then raises their
oxygen demand. The effects of pollution
are greater in shallow, enclosed or slow
flowing streams. Excess fertilizer,
herbicides and pesticides when washed
by rain into rivers causes serious
danger to life. Excess phosphorus in fertilizer cause serious
entroplication. Apart from fertilizers, detergent are also very
toxic to marine life when washed International Letters of
Natural Sciences 3 (2014) 1-6 3 into water. Chemical pollutants
from distaffs have been found to be animal carcinogens. The
dyeing industries in Nigeria (tie and dye) produce chemicals
such as zinc sulphate and copper salts which are non-
biodegrable, when they are discharged into rivers; they
produce devastating effects on aquatic environments.

Pollution poses a serious risk to life especially when the water

is a source of drinking and for domestic purposes for humans
polluted waters are potent agents of diseases such as cholera,
typhoid and tuberculosis. A major water pollutants has been oil
spilled in large quantities from tankers of broken oil pipes from
oil industries which kills sea weeds, molluscs, marine birds,
crustaceans, fishes and other sea organisms that serve as food
for humans. This leads to calcium deficiencies in our diet. Some
insecticides like DDT are particularly dangerous when allowed
into bodies of water because its concentration increases along
the food chain. Oysters for an example can accumulate DDT to a
concentration. 70,000 times that of DDT in sea water. The
effect of water pollution in some areas has been to an extent of
irreversibly changing aquatic ecosystems. This is dangerous to
plants and animals including humans.

Since water pollution has direct consequences on human well

beings, an effective teaching strategy in the formal education
sector is essential for a better understanding so as to develop
the right attitude towards water. This is why the guided
discovery approach is a teaching strategy which when
 adequately utilized and combined with other methods of
science teaching will leave lasting impression on the learner as
well as help him solve the problems of his immediate
environment (Ogwuasor, 1998).

EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution has a duel effect on nature. It has negative effects on

the living and also on the environment. The effects of pollution on
human beings and aquatic communities are many and varied. Water
pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths per day, mostly due to
contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage in developing
countries. An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a
proper toilet, and 1,000 Indians children’s die of diarrhoea every day
and so many other countries too. Nearly 500 million Chinese lack
access of safe drinking water.

Definitely with all these, we can expect that there is going to be

a reduction in productivity. Biomass and diversity of communities
are to be expected when large amount of toxic materials are released
into the streams, lakes and coastal waters in the ocean. Much of
aquatic pollution involves sewage in which organic waste
predominate. This waste can increase secondary productivity while
altering the character of the aquatic community. Most fishes
especially the species desired as food by man are among the sensitive
species that disappear with the least intense pollution.

Water pollution leads to damage to human health. Disease

carrying agents such as bacteria and viruses are carried into the
surface and ground water. Drinking water is affected and health
hazards result. Direct damage to plants and animals nutrition also
affects human health. Plants nutrients including nitrogen,
phosphorus and other substances that support the growth of aquatic
plant life could be in excess causing algal gloom and excessive weed
growth. This makes water to have odour, taste and sometimes colour.
Ultimately, the ecological balance of a body of water is altered.
Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides cause acid rain which lowers the
 pH value of soil and emission of carbon dioxide cause ocean
International Letters of Natural Sciences 3 (2014) 1-6 4 acidification,
the on-going decrease in the PH of the Earth’s Oceans as CO2
becomes dissolved. 5.

POLLUTION MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL

There are many approaches that could be adopted in water

pollution control and management. It could be through prevention,
practice efforts or join a project/program; Regulation and monitoring
or engaging in control measures by reducing or minimizing waste.
Prevention of water pollution according to Wikipedia includes the
following ways:

(i) Wash your car far away from any storm water drains.
(ii) Don’t throw trash, chemicals or solvents into sewer
drains
(iii) Inspects your septic system every 3 – 5 years
(iv) Avoid using pesticides and fertilizers that can run off
into water systems
(v) Sweep your driveway instead of hosing it down
(vi) Always pump your waste-holding tanks on your boat
(vii) Use non-toxic cleaning materials
(viii) Clean up oil and other liquid spills with kitty litter and
sweep those up
(ix) Don’t wash paints brushes in the sink.

Another way is to join or get involved with pollution

prevention is to practice efforts on your own or join
projects or programme. Some of these are available
with the Environmental Protection Agency website
(EPA).
Regulation and monitoring is an effective way of
pollution management. Many nations worldwide have
enacted legislation to regulate various types of
pollution as well as to mitigate the adverse effects of
pollution.
 Pollution control means to control the emissions
and effluents into the air, water and land or soil.
Without pollution control, the waster products from
consumptions, heating, agriculture, mining,
manufacturing, transportation and other human
activities, whether they accumulate or disperse, will
degrade the environment. Pollution prevention and
waste minimization are more desirable than pollution
control. However, pollution could be minimized by
adopting these practices (i) by recycling (ii) by
reusing (iii) waste minimization (iv) by mitigating (v)
by preventing (vi) by compost.
Apart from all these mentioned above, you can also
use pollution control devices which include Dust
collection system e.g. bag houses, cyclones,
electrostatic precipitators, scrubbers e.g. baffle spray
scrubber, ejector venture scrubber, mechanically
aided scrubbers, spray tower, wet scrubber, sewage
treatment e.g. sedimentation (primary treatment),
activated sludge bio filters (secondary treatment, also
used for industrial waste water), aerated lagoons,
constructed wetlands (also used in urban runoff);
industrial wastewater treatment e.g. ultra filtration,
API oil-water separators, bio filters, dissolved air
flotation (DAF), powdered activated carbon
treatment; the last but not the least are vapour
recovery system and phytoremediation.

CONCLUSION

Water pollution is an environmental problem that is of major concern to us

in Nigeria and the world at large. Human contribution to water pollution is
enormous by way of International Letters of Natural Sciences 3 (2014) 1-6
5 defecating; dumping of refuse, industrial wastes and washing of clothes
etc. (Egilabor, 1998) apparently, environmental education is of immense
importance to use particularly in schools and should have a place in the
school curriculum. In this way they will be less inclined to pollute our
waters.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
www.ideagate.net

www.wikipedia.com

www.indiaenvironmentalportal.org
 ACKNOWLEDGEMWNT

I would like to express my special thanks to my faculty Mrs. Shritoma

Sengupta, who made each of the classes interesting and informative. She
gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful assignment of
Environmental Science on “POLLUTION”. Her suggestions and help on doing
this assignment were really helpful. By doing this assignment, I came to know
many new things I am really thankful to her.